Muzaffarnagar riots: Centre asks UP govt to step up security

New Delhi: As communal clashes hit six districts in western Uttar Pradesh, the Centre has asked the Akhilesh Yadav government to tighten security across the state and ensure that the riots do not spread to other areas.

In an advisory, the Home Ministry told the Uttar Pradesh government that adequate security forces must be deployed in all sensitive areas where there are possibilities of eruption of communal flare-up.

Representational image. AFP

The state government has been asked to be extra vigilant and deal effectively with petty incidents to avert any communal skirmish, official sources said.

The Home Ministry conveyed to the state government that preventive arrests should be made wherever necessary and strict action should be taken anyone trying to inflame passion.

Senior officers have been asked to rush to the spot even where minor incident is reported and try to control the situation with utmost sensitivity so that social fabric is not destroyed, sources said.

The death toll in communal violence in Muzaffarnagar and its adjoining adjoining districts climbed to 38. The other districts where clashes were reported include Meerut, Hapur, Baghpat, Saharanpur and Shamli.